'Whitey' Bulger's lover pleads not guilty to contempt charge

Oct. 19, 2015

Updated 11:55 a.m.

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This undated file photo provided in 2011 by the U.S. Marshals Service shows Catherine Greig, the longtime girlfriend of Whitey Bulger, sentenced in 2012 to an eight-year prison term for conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, identity fraud and conspiracy to commit identity fraud. U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

This undated file photo provided in 2011 by the U.S. Marshals Service shows Catherine Greig, the longtime girlfriend of Whitey Bulger, sentenced in 2012 to an eight-year prison term for conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, identity fraud and conspiracy to commit identity fraud. U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOSTON – The longtime girlfriend and fugitive companion of mobster James “Whitey” Bulger pleaded not guilty Monday to a contempt charge for refusing to say whether other people helped him during his 16 years on the run.

Catherine Greig made the plea at an initial appearance on the new charge in U.S. District Court. A judge ordered her to return to court Nov. 19.

Greig, 64, already is serving an eight-year sentence for conspiracy to harbor a fugitive, identity fraud and conspiracy to commit identity fraud.

The indictment alleges that from December 2014 until last month, Greig disobeyed a judge’s order to testify before a grand jury in an investigation into “third parties” who assisted and harbored Bulger.

Bulger, now 86, fled Boston just before being indicted in early 1995. He was one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives until he was captured in Santa Monica, California, in 2011. He and Greig had been living together in a rent-controlled apartment.

When Greig was sentenced on the original charges in 2012, her lawyer, Kevin Reddington, said Greig was in love with Bulger when she fled with him and did not believe that Bulger was capable of murder.

In 2013, Bulger was convicted of playing a role in 11 murders and other charges in a sweeping racketeering indictment.

Prosecutors said Greig had numerous opportunities to leave Bulger during their time on the run. Instead, they said, she helped him remain a fugitive by using false identities and posing as his wife so she could pick up his prescriptions.

The couple posed as married retirees from Chicago. After they were captured, authorities found a stash of more than $800,000 in cash and 30 weapons in their apartment.

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